Roderick Leon Milstead, Jr (born November 10, 1969) is the former head

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

. He is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Early years

Milstead attended Lackey High School, where he was a two-time All-State

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

man and helped lead his team to a Class B state championship in 1986. He participated in the

Big 33 Football Classic The Big 33 Football Classic is an all-star American football game featuring the top high-school football players in Pennsylvania. Played since 1957, the game is often described as the "Super Bowl of High School Football." Contests currently pit ...

game between the Maryland and Pennsylvania All-stars. He also played Basketball and was valuable member of the Track & Field team that won the 1987 Class B State Championship. He accepted a football scholarship from

, where he became a four-year starter at

left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right g ...

. As a junior, he helped Delaware State average 298.7 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per rush. Finishing the season as the NCAA

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

No. 2 ranked rushing offense, including a school record 518-yard rushing performance against

Towson State University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

. As a senior, he helped his team register 380 yards rushing against

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

. He never missed a game or a practice, while making 42 straight starts at

. He was selected first-team All-MEAC three straight years and also received

All-American honors in 1991. In 2003, he was inducted into the Delaware State Athletic Hall of Fame. 2021 Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame Inductee.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Milstead was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the fifth round of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

. On August 25, he was traded to the

in exchange for a conditional draft choice (not exercised).

Cleveland Browns

On September 3,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a nerve problem in his back. He was released by the

on September 1,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. He was later re-signed and spent 11 games on the inactive list. He was waived on August 28,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

San Francisco 49ers

Milstead was signed by the

on September 15,

. The next year, he started a career-high 12 games. He was released at the end of training camp on August 25,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and later re-signed in October, that season he went on to appear in 4 games and was inactive in 5.

Washington Redskins

On March 3,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

and went on to start 11 games. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he was inactive for the first 5 games, before being released on October 23. He was re-signed on November 9,

, after

Keith Sims Keith Alexander Sims (born June 17, 1967) is a former American football player in the National Football League who played offensive line for 11 seasons between 1990 in sports, 1990 and 2000 in sports, 2000 for the Miami Dolphins and the Washingt ...

was injured.

Denver Broncos

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and was released on August 17.

Personal life

Milstead coached the Lackey High School football team to 2 state appearances at Ravens stadium. He coached the

. In 2016, he took over as the head football coach at

La Plata High School La Plata High School is part of the Charles County Public Schools and is located in La Plata, Maryland, United States. The current school was built in 1979. Before that, it was in the building (built in 1964) which now holds Milton M. Somers Mid ...

La Plata, Maryland La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapm ...

. Milstead was named head football coach at Delaware State on January 30, 2018.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Delaware State profile

Delaware State Athletic Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milstead, Rod 1969 births Living people American football offensive guards Cleveland Browns players Delaware State Hornets football coaches Delaware State Hornets football players North Carolina Central Eagles football coaches San Francisco 49ers players Washington Redskins players High school football coaches in Maryland People from Charles County, Maryland Coaches of American football from Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Players of American football from Washington, D.C. African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople